Local team leagues

Over a few years of talking to folks at camps and while traveling I've run across some interesting local leagues. For instance, I've heard of leagues in Colorado that are combo/mixed. So you play teams of mixed doubles, but the players add up to 6.5 or 7.5. I think, but I'm not sure, that the women had to be equal or higher rated than the man. This would make for much different matches than the 6.0/7.0/8.0 mixed, as all the players on the court would be close(r) to equal in playing ability.

Ladies from San Diego were telling me of a local league that didn't really use USTA ratings, but rather you played some number of weeks, and if you won 75% of your games you moved up, if you lost 25% you moved down. And then the league would start up again. It sounded like there were matches year round.

A local ladies league we have around here is interclub. The club captains set up schedules with other clubs for bringing 4 teams of doubles for play, followed by lunch. There are different levels of teams, my local club plays three levels, A2(3.5/4.0) B1(3.0/3.5) and B2(3.0/2.5). Other clubs also have C and A1 levels. There are no standings kept, and the captains consider it a badge of honor if they show up with 8 ladies and have the matches on all four courts go to three sets. It's considered a failure if you bring teams that are so mismatched some ladies get blown out. But by the end of lunch everyone forgets the scores.

As far as I know, USTA mixed is always a combo feature but the ratings cannot be more than 1.0 apart. Also, I believe most USTA mixed leagues went to a 6.0, 7.0, 8.0 level format so they would be compatiable with the mixed playoffs at sectional and national. But a doubles team at 7.0 can still consist of a 4.0 player and 3.0 player.

The other things you are referring to sound more like local play than USTA. Your local club sounds a lot like the ALTA format used in the Atlanta area. It is always interesting to me to discover how others are playing.

Where I'm from, we have a city league (no USTA affiliation). We play three times a week. Two of those occasions are doubles, and the other is singles. Doubles and Singles each has it's own Rankings/Ladder.

For doubles, players are divided into groups of four going down the rankings based on who shows up for that night. Three sets are played, and you change partners after each set so that after three sets you have partnered with everyone in your group. Based on the number of games won, the rankings are refigured in some way that basically makes it so the top player of the group gets bumped to the next highest group for the next session and the player with the worst results gets bumped down the next lowest group.

Singles works basically like a singles ladder, and matches are determined by who shows up for each session.

It's great practice, and good to know that you'll always have a good match at least three times a week. Play continues all year, and we only miss days due to rain or snow. Usually, as long as the weather is clear and the temp is at least 30 F there are plenty of players that show up.

USTA league play is big in my area, but we also have a great local league. I play mixed doubles in that league, and the matches are much more interesting without the USTA restrictions.

We get a lot of husband and wife couples, so playing against a 4.5 man and 2.5 woman happens. The spread between players on the teams is pretty large as well. We've got 5.0 men on my team as well as 3.0 men.

A spouses mixed league or a queens' doubles (lady even or higher rated than the man) league would be my dream mixed league. I love playing with my husband. But I'm rated .5 higher than him, so USTA mixed matches would be terribly uneven.

You have USTA mixed 6.5s? That would also be cool. In our area we would have to play mixed 7.0s, and a 3.5 woman and 3.0 man against a 3.0 woman and 4.0 man wouldn't do too well. The 3.0 women tell me the 4.0 men don't target them, but I haven't heard the same encouragement from the 3.5 women. I suspect if you don't look like much of a threat you won't get hurt.

You have USTA mixed 6.5s? That would also be cool. In our area we would have to play mixed 7.0s, and a 3.5 woman and 3.0 man against a 3.0 woman and 4.0 man wouldn't do too well. The 3.0 women tell me the 4.0 men don't target them, but I haven't heard the same encouragement from the 3.5 women. I suspect if you don't look like much of a threat you won't get hurt.

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The reason the Souhtern Section stoppe the odd level in Mixed Dubs was to conform the National format. There are obviously areas that that still use the old format, but they do not advance to Nationals at that level. But even with the even levels, you can still have odd combinations. And mixed is always a blast.

Where I'm from, we have a city league (no USTA affiliation). We play three times a week. Two of those occasions are doubles, and the other is singles. Doubles and Singles each has it's own Rankings/Ladder.

For doubles, players are divided into groups of four going down the rankings based on who shows up for that night. Three sets are played, and you change partners after each set so that after three sets you have partnered with everyone in your group. Based on the number of games won, the rankings are refigured in some way that basically makes it so the top player of the group gets bumped to the next highest group for the next session and the player with the worst results gets bumped down the next lowest group.

Singles works basically like a singles ladder, and matches are determined by who shows up for each session.

It's great practice, and good to know that you'll always have a good match at least three times a week. Play continues all year, and we only miss days due to rain or snow. Usually, as long as the weather is clear and the temp is at least 30 F there are plenty of players that show up.

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What city is this, where you're playing outdoor league matches in winter?

I can see your dilemma then. I looked at our current club team and the only one that did well at 7.0 with a 3.0 man / 4.0 woman was a guy I play with a lot who's not a real 3.0, at least in doubles. He plays enough singles slots (and usually loses legitimately) to keep his rating low.

... For instance, I've heard of leagues in Colorado that are combo/mixed. So you play teams of mixed doubles, but the players add up to 6.5 or 7.5. I think, but I'm not sure, that the women had to be equal or higher rated than the man. This would make for much different matches than the 6.0/7.0/8.0 mixed, as all the players on the court would be close(r) to equal in playing ability. ...

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The mixed combo league in Colorado is in the fall, and it is actually a sectional league (I'm not sure how many other states play it ... does Utah? I don't know). They just recently switched over to combo; for many years it was a straight 3.0 or 3.5 or 4.0 etc. league.

I'm not aware of any restriction on ratings in any mixed league ... as far as I have seen, you could have a 4.5 guy and a 3.0 woman in a 7.5 league. It might have changed, because I didn't play mixed last season, but I know I once played a 5.5 guy and a 3.5 lady combination in our 9.0 league.

(That was a weird match ... talk about trying to aim every single shot at one person. It worked for a set, but when the guy is about 6'5" and I believe was then ranked 1 or 2 nationally in men's 40s or 45s, there wasn't a lot we could do. I think he could have beaten us faster WITHOUT her on the court, just playing by himself.

Actually, I'm certain he could have beaten us faster, because we wouldn't have had her serve to pick on or her mistakes to give us points. His serve kept bouncing over my head, and I'm pretty tall. If I moved in to take it on the rise, he'd just blast a flat one past me. It was fun to be on the court with someone that good, though.)